What’s a selective sync conflict?

A selective sync conflict happens when you create a folder with the same name and in the same location as an unsynced folder.

If you try to sync both folders, the newer folder will be appended with the words “selective sync conflict”.

Example of a selective sync conflict

Imagine you create a folder called "Taxes." If you uncheck "Taxes" in your selective sync preferences, this will stop "Taxes" from syncing to the Dropbox folder on your computer. If you then create a new folder called "Taxes" in the same location on your computer, Dropbox won't sync that folder. If you then sync both the original "Taxes" folder in your account and the new "Taxes" folder on your computer, the new one will be appended with the words “selective sync conflict”.

What do I do now?

All of your files are still safe in both folders. Here are some options you can take:

Simply leave them alone, and let one continue to have the name appended with “selective sync conflict”

Change the name of the conflict folder

Consolidate the files you need from both folders into one of the folders

How do I prevent a selective sync conflict from happening again?

If you’d like to avoid selective sync conflicts in the future, check your Dropbox account online to make sure the folder you’re about to create doesn’t already exist in the same location.

Experiencing a different type of conflict?

You may get an error message related to a different type of file conflict. Learn how to resolve each type: